In ‘normal life’ we are subject to routines in our day/ week/ month that we’re probably hardly aware of. We can wake 10 minutes before the alarm goes off because we do it all week every week. We set ourselves routines because it frees us up to think about other things.

In ‘lockdown’ those routines are disrupted. Or you might say that we’re liberated from them.

When I was in hospital the first time, someone told me that the days stretch forever but the weeks disappear and you don’t know where they’ve gone. I call it psychiatric time, and it bends and stretches out of all recognition. There’s less to keep you to your normal routines on the ward.

My friends have a manic toddler in the house who doesn’t have nursery routine now. So she had an epic sleep the other day then kept them awake between midnight and four am.

Some people are more prone than others to sleep problems when you take routines away - it’s wired in your genetics whether you’re a lark or a night owl.

How’s time going for you at the moment?

'The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once'........Albert Einstein

Working shifts and rarely the same one two days in a row you could say I'm void of routine. Other than either dropping my boy off at breakfast club or collecting him from after school club.

I usually sleep late after dropping him off or sleep in the afternoon before collecting him. Naps like that are harder now since he's home with my wife and 7 week old and I can't ignore it when she's clearly struggling

On the flip side, there's much less to do at work just now and I've got a lot of time to sleep there instead.

Time also usually makes money, even when I sleep but with horse racing being shut down I don't have that and I don't have the bookies to go into on a daily basis either. Watch/house/holiday fund isn't growing like it should.

With school now cancelled for the remainder of the year, one of my personal goals is to develop a daily routine. Otherwise I'll ballon up to 300 lbs and get NOTHING done around my house. If we are expected to start doing distance learning with our students (I still have no idea how that's going to shake out yet), I'll definitely need to get into a routine.

I grew up in a small fishing town, and it used to make me smile to see elderly people out cleaning their front step at 6.30 in the morning. Given that they didn’t have to do much for the rest of the day I wondered why they didn’t have a long lie.
Now, for me, I’m up at 6 for my first coffee of the day because that was my routine on the ward. It’s a nice quiet time before reading the news of the day.

'The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once'........Albert Einstein

Thank you so much for this. The first interesting and thought provoking post I have seen in days.
Having retired five years ago I feel that the past few years have in part, prepared me for the current situation. Time no longer dictates to me; I get up to make tea when I wake up. It might be 5.30 or it might be 8.30. Now being housebound I no longer feel as though I should be here or there, doing this or that. Someone going from 9 to 5 to being at home with time to fill could become frustrated. Live in the moment is not a bad start.

^^^
I think there’s good reason to ask people to look out for their mental health once routine is more difficult and we face so much uncertainty. As you say, a packed work schedule and evenings filled with activities for kids etc keeps many people ticking over without much time for introspection. Now that some of those routines have lifted we might have more time alone with ourselves. That can be tricky!

'The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once'........Albert Einstein

When I worked at home several years ago my working day was a full one and generally 1-2 hours more than a standard 8 hour day so no siesta for me then.

Presently time seems to mean little. A consequence of COVID-19 is that I’ve worked (I’m a part-timer) just 1 day since Sunday 15th so Thursday 19th was the last time I wore any watch at all.

I’ve been making the most of the good weather so tidying all aspects of the garden each day and that negates any need for time-keeping. With 3 weeks of staying at home concurrent with 12 weeks of “shielding” it’ll be more appropriate for me to use a calendar now to monitor the passing of time.

^^^
Really interesting that you’ve stopped wearing a watch, and have shifted time scales in a way from using a watch to using a calendar.

I’m still wearing my day-date seiko. It’s quite easy to get hazy about what day it is when you don’t work, but it helps me a bit to be in sink with professionals who are helping me from a distance. It might make no difference to me to send an email or text message in the evening but it might make a difference to someone else’s routine.

'The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once'........Albert Einstein

I had to go and see my GP today, and it gave me a chance to walk through the area I used to live in, and down the steps past my old flat. This is slap bang in the middle of Edinburgh’s old town, just down the Royal Mile from the castle. There was NO-ONE THERE! I was thinking that when I lived there, time was pretty meaningless - there were crowds on the streets any time you set foot out there. But now time is meaningless because there’s no-one there to mark it.

The only mark of time passing that had any meaning was watching the minutes run down on the bus tracker to get home! Beyond that it’s only the passing of the sun that would have given any meaningful measure of time.

I’m now taking a siesta every day. It helps me get over the fatigue of coronavirus, means that I feel like I’m getting 2 days for the price of one, and also means that if i’m Having a rough day it’s only 6 hours long!

'The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once'........Albert Einstein

Interesting and engaging read missF, I absolutely agree that the emotional and wellbeing challenges are not to be underestimated at this time (not just at this time).
As many others have before me, I have been through several major employment/career/lifestyle changes in the last few years (my choice - not complaining) and the changes in contact, interaction, routine have been in some ways more personally challenging than the financial and uncertainty.
The current situation finds me as primary carer/teacher/playmate for our 7yo and I have virtually no capacity for business. Now I love the additional (100% of) time im getting with him while he still wants to spend it with me and we've been having fun, but... My day/week/month is no longer governed by precise times / meetings / tasks / appointments / school etc. but by waking/starting when its light and sleeping (at some point when its dark). I have not worn a watch for many weeks and dont feel the inclination to do so.
I consider myself lucky, I had the transition period from employed, to self employed/wfh, to current must stay at home. Without this, Im sure I would really be struggling right now as Im sure many are.

^^^^ It’s good to have a head’s up on how other people managed the transition into lockdown. For some it must have felt like stepping off a cliff into complete unknown. For others maybe their work and life arrangements might have led to a smoother change. My friend has found himself furloughed, and doing full time child care, while his wife is working full time from home. It always makes me smile that the first video clips of the kids for the day arrives before 7 am, when they’re already doing serious playing!

'The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once'........Albert Einstein